Table pad



L. M. AJRNoPoL TABLE PAD Filed Nov. 21. 1925 Y i whilst "#lvmmmunywnpxwsnx if j Patented Mar. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES,

LOUIS H. ARNOPOL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,V

TABLE PAD.

Application led November 21, 1925. Serial No. 70,454.

My invention relates to table pads, for covering the surface of dining room tables, kitchen tables, and for like household uses.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a table pad which will serve as a heat insulating medium and as a water proof medium' for protecting the tabletop from liquids, hot dishes, etc.

Another object of the invention is to prom vide a table pad which will have these characteristics and which will still be very pliable and flexible in its entirety. This pliability or flexibility is a very desirable attribute and which has not been obtainable in table pads of the prior art. The present pad is sufficiently flexible to drop over the edges of the table, substantially like 'a table cloth. Hence, the present pad need not be cut to size as is necessary with most table pads now on the market but to the contrary may be sold in standard sizes in department stores.

A further object of the invention is to provide a table pad which will be reversible for increasing the general utility of the pad, one side of the pad having a rubberized or water-proofed surface, and the vother side having a soft fabric surface. The rubberized surface is generally uppermost when the pad is used as a water-proof and heatproof protecting medium'under a table cloth, while the soft fabric side affords anattractive surfacefor pla-ying cards, etc. This soft fabric surface can be made of a pleasing color and can be ornamented more or less. f f

A further object of the invention is to provide a table ad which can be folded up into a small at bundle without injury 40 to the pad. This is accomplished by va unique method of defining fol-ding lines along which the-pad will fold without cracking, and by providing a novel arrangement of slits which avoid-heavy folds where several plies of the material occur in the folding of the pad. s

Other objects and advantages will be apparent in the following description of a preferred Vembodiment of my invention. In the drawing .illustrating this embodiment:

Figure l is an elevational view showing the pad extended out flat, as viewed from the rubberized side. 4 f

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevational view on a larger scale of the quilted body portion of the ing.

Figure 3 is a sectional view, as for instance on the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2, the relative thicknesses of the several plies being magnified for clarity of illustration.

Figure 4; is a Similar `.view illustrating the two succecding'steps of applying thehcat insulating material and outer rubberized sheet.`

Figure 5 is a sectional View through one margin of the pad, as for instance on the plane of line 5-5 `of yFigure l illustrating thetaped edges of thecompleted pad, and

Figure 6 is a perspective View showing the pad partly folded.'

.The main body portion of the pad comprises two fabric sheets l1 and l2 and an 'intervening layer 13 ofV cotton batting or equivalent Vmaterial for giving a soft cushioned thickness to this main body portion. These three plies are .all joined together at pad showing the quilt stitcha multiplicity of points .so that there can be no relative shifting between these plies, this being preferably accomplished by quilt stitching through the several plies.` 'This quilt stitching is represented by the several rows of diagonal cross stitching 14 in Figure 2.

use consisting of approximately 50% of ground asbestosand 50% of commercial rub- .fber compound. kThese proportions may be varied, but I have foundthe above mixture in the proportions stated to give the-desired. properties in the pad. The asbestos component has highy heat resistance for preventing the transfer of heat through `to the vquilted body portionorvice versa, while the rubber component serves as a good-binding medium and as a fair heat insulator as well. Instead of coating or smearingthis mixture on the .fabric rsheet `11,*it might-be made up asa ply or sheet for 'direct application as a unitfto the fabric surface 11.

Over the outer surface of this layeror ply of heat insulating material 15'is vsuperposed a sheet of water-proof fabric 16 having a rubberized outer Coatingl? or a sheet which has been water-proofed by impregnacoating is, preferably of relatively y light color, such as white,"so that it will g1ve a light colored back ground under a thin tablecloth. i

above, is then passed between vulcanizing rolls which operate to vulcanize the sheets 16 and 11 firmly together with the layer 15 of `rubber and asbestos therebetween. 0 ortionk of the rubber in the intervening ayerV 15 of rubber and asbestos compound becomes impregnated in the fabric surfaces ll and 16, thus serving firmly to bind these two plies of fabric together, `the asbestos component of the mixture or compound remaining as a. heat `resisting strata between thev two plies of fabric.

'lwo oppositely located slits 2l are now cut into the sides ofthe `vulcanized pad, these slits being of a depth to leave a central uncut panel of a width substantially equal tothe depthr of each slit. The unfinished edfres of the pad are then faced as shown inligure 1. The outerrmargins are preferably faced by a narrow tape 23 which emf braces the edges and folds over on the upper and `lower sides of the pad, being secured thereto by stitching 24 which passes entirely through the pad. The opposing edges of eaclrslit 21 are preferably faced by overcasting` .or buttonhole stitching 25. The edges of these slits may be faced with tape if desired similary to theouter edges, but inasmuch as thepad folds along Vthe line V.of these slits, I prefer tofuse the stitched or looped facing and thereby avoid any objectionable thickness of material along this fold line., This also avoidsany ridges lin the central portion Aof the pad when laid flat.

Vliile the present pad is very pliable and will dropdown ,over the edges of a table like a ,tableclotln nevertheless there is a possibility of wrinkling and cracking the rubberized material `in making a sharp fold in the.

pad incident tofolding it up into a small bundle. I have obviated this ossibility by sharply defining lines of fol ingvfor the pad-along 4which the pad will tend to fold and without *crackingvthe rubberized material. kThis is obtained by extending superposed lines .of stitching across the pad coincident` withv the `desired lines of folding. As indicated at 27V in Figure. l, each `line of folding is thusl defined b machine stitching five or six times along t e same line. This makes the pad thinner and more compact along these lines and affords a break line .whiclrenables the rubberized material to I fold sharply without cracking.

The stitching'.y is preferably performed Awiththepresser-foot of the ymachine engaging the -rubberized side of the material so 'that the down stroke ofthe stitching needle and the engagement of the presser-foot will compress or crease Vthe rubberized side these lines'of stitching. pad having a natural tendency to. fold 1n- Wardly to bring therubberized sides into The completed assembly, as describedY slightly into the body of the material along This results 1n the contact. These lines of stitching may be arranged for any preferred manner of folding; in Figure 1 the stitching divides the pad into six panel areas consisting of the two central panels a and b and the two pairs of lateral panels c-rl and c-f. The centraltransverse line of stitching 27 extends between the ends of the two slits 21-2l and forms ra central line of folding. The pad is folded by turning in hoth lateral iiaps across the rubberized side of the adjacent central panel and then folding the two halves oi? the pad` back along the central line of stitching 27. The provision of the two slits 2121 avoids thick folds of rthe material and any drawing of these outer side portions in making this last fold,

The rubberized or water-proofed surface of the pad is usually uppermost in the general utility of the pad when employed as a heatfproof and vwater-proof protecting inedium. below ay tablecloth. The rubberized outer coating `16 and the heat-proof ply 15 thoroughly protect theabsorbent body portion of the pad and the table surface from hot dishes placed on the tablecloth or from any liquids spilled thereon.

The opposite side l2 of the pad is an attractive color such as green or brown, and

the quilted stitching 14 on this opposite side lends an attractive design or finish to the pad. It will be understood that this side of the pad is turned uppermostas for playing cards, or when a soft finished surface is desired forvany other reason. i

- Having thus described myv invention what I claim as newl and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a table pad, pliable in its entirety, the combination of a quilted body portion, a rubberized sheet on one side of said body portion and a plastic mixture of rubber' and asbestos vulcanized between and `with said rubberized sheet and said quilted body portion.

2.. In `a tabler pad, a quiltedlbody portion comprising two pliesof fabric with a 'ply of cotton batting therebetween, said three plies said heat resisting material, sai main body portion said heat resisting material, and said rubberized fabric being vulcanizedtogether.

3.5111 a table pad, the combinationfof a quiltedfbody portion, a rubberized sheet of fabric on one side of said body portion, a ply of heat resisting material vulcanized `being secured together by quilt stitching, a

between said quilted body portion and said rubberized sheet, a pair of slits cut in opposite sides of said pad in substantial alignment with each other, a line of stitching joining said slits, and two parallel lines of stitching extending transversely to said first named line of `stitching and co-operatr ing therewith to divide said pad into six panel areas for folding.

4. A pliable laminated structure comprising a waterproof fabric having a rubberized outer coating, an insulating layer of a mixture of rubber and asbestos and a cotton batting body portion all vulcanized together.

5. A pliable laminated structure comprising a water-proof fabric, a layer` of a mixture yof rubber and a heat insulating material and a quilted body portion all vulcanized together.

6. In a table pad the combination of a layer of cotton quilting having a plurality of closely spaced lines of stitching to hold the cotton evenly distributed, a layer of rubber super-posed upon said stitching and a layer of cement binding the whole together.

7. In a table pad the combination of a pair kof layers of fabric with a layer of cot-tonv batting between the same, a plurality of closely spaced lines of stitching fastening vsaid cotton batting between saidl layers of fabric, a layer ofy cement upon said fabric and a layer of rubber superposed upon said stitching and fabric and vulcanized under pressure into intimate connection therewith.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 19th day of November, 1925.

LOUIS ARNOPOL. 

